Sumitomo Realty & Development Co. is forecasting a third-straight year of record operating income as "Abenomics," the name give to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's economic policies, spurs a property market boom. That doesn't mean investors have unlimited appetite for its debt.
The nation's third-largest developer by market value has offered ¥330 billion in notes since 2013, accounting for 28.5 percent of issuance by property firms, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Its bonds due June 2025 pay an extra yield of 54 basis points over the sovereign, compared with 48 for similar-maturity paper of Nomura Real Estate Holdings Inc., whose local debt score is one level lower.
Sumitomo Realty is forecasting a 4.9 percent increase in operating earnings after Abe's stimulus measures helped cut Tokyo office vacancies to the least since 2008 in July. Its debt-fueled expansion was one success story even as the Bank of Japan's bond-buying stimulus failed to prevent the economy contracting last quarter.